Car-coupling.



R. E. POWERSI CAR COUPLNG.

APPLecATfoN mio FEB,29,1916.

9 365,? D Paentd Aug. 14, 19N.

INVENTOR @I VE A "15.*, n 3 1 n I EY y n y x um ...thx

V5/ITN ESSES prominent in j''ollowing is a specification.

EET E. POWERS, (3F-*NEW YGRK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 JOHN H.ALLEN,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

oenfooornino.

Specification of Letters Patent.

ratented'aug. 14, 1917,

Application led February 2i?, 1916. Serial No. 81,114.

h ail ywhom @'23 may concern.'

33e it known that l, Bonner E. POWERS, i citizen of the United States,and resident of New York, county of New York, and

'State of'llew York, have invented an Im- Carouplings, of which 'the Theobieot of my invention is to provide manuel means for operating a carcoupler from the side of the car, and more p artieularly to provide'cwpacity for eentering the coupler into operative couplingf position,whereby the couplers of cars to be.conneoted may be brought intocoupling; alinenient 'Without 'the nebessity of the operator bominfg'exposed to danger by entering between the cars to be Coupled.

lli/lf. invention consists of' an adjustable mail whieh loosely ts overthe coupler, and

combining therewith means for operatingl the mail transveely, Comprisinga sliding?,r bar suitably supported upon the car frame and preferablyadapted to have rotary motion by which it may also be employed' foroperating the coupler pin, the construction being such that 'theoperative relation of the device with the coupler pin is not aected bythe lateral adjustment of the mall and its operative shaft. Morespecifically, my invention consists'of a shaft held in supports on'thelhar frame so as to have capacity f or longitudinal adjustments, andhaving at its end adjacent to the central portion of the end ofthe ear amall-shaped structure suitably supported thereon and having' adownwardly extending' jaw engaging the coupier, said mail beingconnected with the shi'ftable shaft' so as to move with it when shiftedlongitudinally, and thereby cause the coupler which the mail engages tobe similariy shifted in a lateral direction in respect io the car hivinvention also comprehends details of construction which, with thefeatures above i 'll be better understood by refert drawings, in whichis ajoian view of a ear coupler embodying my improvements; Fig. frontelevation of the same with a ortion of the coupler broken away; and Siee longitudinal sectional elevation online -w of 2, but showing thecoupler in full lines.'

2 is the oar' frame'or body; and 3 is the coupler and connected with thecar frame freedom of lateral motion. 4 is a shaft 'an ranged atvthe endof the car frame and is supported horizontally `in lsuitable guidebearings 5's as to have rotary as well as longitudinal motion in saidbearings. This shaft 4 extends from the central portion of the car abovethe coupler to or near the side of the car frame Iand maybe providedwith a laterally extending handle 6 by Whichv it may be operated, saidhandle normally extending downwardly. 13 is a cast metal mall having thejaw portion-14 which fits down and over the shank ofthe coupler 3. Theupper end of this mall is'provided with a slotted journal bearing' 15which receives the end 7 of the shaft 4. lThe mall is retained inposition 'upon the shaftby the cotter pin-,16 which extends through thelateral flanges of the bearing, as will be clearly understood byreference to Fig. 3. The mall is adjustably secured to the shaft 4 sothat the shaft may rotate upon it but so as to cause the l way thecoupler` lmay be shifted into' the proper position of adjustment toenable the proper coupling with another car.` .A s

shown in` Fig. 3, the mall 18 is located between the yoke .'plate 18which comes next to the car frame and the outer yoke plate 19 which issecured to the bottomA plate 17 In this way the mall is shielded andheld in proper position longitudinally of the car but free to shift'laterally between the yokes`18 and19. 4

The shaft 4 is preferably provided with* a laterally extending ar1n`8looped at the end as at 11. Hinged upon the loopedportion 11 is a hingedarm 9, said arm being connected with the loop .11. by a looped portion10. The arm 9 is approximately parallel with the shaft`4 but theconnection between the loops 10 and v11 provides a. hinged joint whichgives 'the arm 9 e011-, siderable freedom-though causing it to rise 12isthe pin of the coupler and is connected by any suitable loop or linkwith the arm 9 so that when the said arm is raised by the rocking of theshaft 4, the pin l2 is also raised and vice versa. In this manner, themall shifting shaft is also adapted for raisfing and lowering the arm 9for operating the coupler pin and permitting the said operation withoutshifting the mall, and similarly the mall may be shifted laterally ofthe car for positioning thegcoupler without operating the coupler pin,as there is freedom of movement between the arm 9 and the pinconnections which will permit the arm 9 sliding through the link or loopof the pin. By the mechanism shown, a rocking motion of the shaft 4operates the coupler pin.y and a longitudinal shifting motion of theshaft 4 operates the mall for centering the coupler.

I do not restrict myself to the use of means for operating the couplerpin of the coupler` as the shaft 4 may be employed solely for operatingthe mall, but I prefer that the same shaft shall also have rockingcapacity and provided with means for operating the coupler pin. Also,while I have shown a particular construction whereby the coupler pin maybe operated, I do not in any way wish to be restricted to the particularconnecting means'shown7 as any other suitable means may be employedwhereby the rocking motion of the shaft may be utilized for operatingthe coupler pin. and therefore the mechanism shown may be taken by wayof example and not as restriction.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and usefulconstruction which Y embodies the features of advantage enumerated asdesirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and describedthe preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice togive satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I donot restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible ofmodification in various particulars without departing from the spirit orscope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is l 1. The combination of a car and couplersupported thereon so as to have capacity for lateral adjustment on thecar, a transverse shaft journaled to the car with provision for endwisemovement, means operable by a rocking motion of the shaft for operatingthe coupler pin, and means independent of the p operating means looselysupported by the shaft to permit it to independently rock saidI meansengaging the coupler whereby a longitudinal adjustment of the shaft willtransversely adjust the coupler for positioning it.

2. The combination of a carand coupler supported thereon so as to havecapacity for lateral adjustment on the car, a transverse shaft journaledto the car with provision for endwise movement, means operable by arocking motion of the shaft for operating the coupler pin, and meansconnected with the shaft and engaging the coupier whereby a longitudinaladjustment of the shaft will transversely adjust the coupler forpositioning it, said means consisting of a mall .journaled upon theshaft but held thereto against independent motion longitudinally thereofand having a downwardly extending jaw portion which straddles thecoupler.

3. The combination of a car and coupler supported .thereon so as to havecapacity for lateral adjustment, a shaft supported upon'the end of thecar with provision for longitudinal movement transversely of the lengthof the car, means extending downwardly vfrom the shaft and movabletherewith said means having a loose connection with the coupler wherebya longitudinal shifting of the shaft may adjust the coupler laterally, acoupler pin, and means for raising and lowering the pin carried by theshaft and operated by -a rotary movement thereof.

4. The combination of a car and coupler supported thereon so as to havecapacity for lateral adjustment, a shaft supported upon the end of thecar with provision for longitudinal movement transversely of the lengthof the car, and means loosely journaled upon and extending downwardlyfrom the shaft and movable longitudinally therewith said meansconsisting of a downwardly extending mail provided with a jaw on itslower part straddling the coupler and maintained in operative relationtherewith by gravity, and fixed `guides to prevent the mall fromswinging clear of the coupling, the construction being such that alongitudinal adjustment of the shaft will cause the coupler to beadjusted laterally in respect to the car.

5. The combination of a car and a coupler supported thereon so as tohave capacity for lateral adjustment` a transverse shaft arranged at theend of the car with provision for longitudinal adjustment, a mall havinga. jaw'at its lower part extending over and receiving the coupler andhaving its upper part formed with a socket forming a detachablecrnneetion with the transverse shaft. and a pin extending across thesocket for locking the mall to the shaft.

6. The combination of a car and coupler supported thereby so as to havecapacity for lateral adjustment` a transverse shaft movablelongitudinally with its inner end reaching adjacent to the coupler,loose connecting mea-ns between the Shaft and the coupler ieeenselpermitting normal movement of the coupler lengthwise of the car butmaintaining connection With the shaft whereby a longitudinal movement ofthe shaft will adjust the coupler laterally in respect to the oar,coupler pin, and laterally extending means from the transverse shaft tomaintain conneotion with the coupler pin during a longitudinal movementof the shaft and to opai w erate the pin by rotary movement of theshaft.

In testimony of which invention, l hereunto setmy hand.

ROBERT E. POWERS..

Witnesses:

JoHN H. AMEN, l/VM; F. MADILL.

